System and Method for Providing a Standardized Data Sharing Platform

ABSTRACT

A standardized platform, implemented in a secure web-based environment, enables the sharing of data between different individuals, institutions and even industries. Data is shared between members of the platform in accordance with defined data objects with specified relationships and permissions which are managed, accessed and modified by members using the platform. Such data objects have defined relationships to entities and other data objects, and are controlled by designated preferred owners, which can vary over time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/444,577, filed Feb. 18, 2011.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to data sharing, and more particularly anovel platform across which users may manage, securely access and shareinformation, data files and workflow as a function of the possible rolesthat such users may assume with respect to the underlying assets andentities to which the data relates.

BACKGROUND

With the increasing complexity of the financial markets and associatedregulations, there is an ever increasing need for efficient managementand sharing of information. As there is an increased ability to moreefficiently manage and share information, there is likely to be acorresponding increase in the ability for a company/industry to operatein a more value maximizing manner. For example, efficient management andseamless sharing of information can increase operational capacity,reduce costs, increase organizational velocities, provide addedtransparency when needed or desired, and facilitate the regulatorycompliance process.

However, there is currently a lack of a platform which is capable ofaddressing such information sharing and access needs in a cross-companyand even cross-industry standardized manner. Currently, individuals,companies and industries that communicate and transact together areessentially all working on independent platforms, thereby impeding theefficiency and transparency of their respective interactions. Electronicsystems and tools are designed to work within an organization (or evenportion of an organization), and do not allow for the seamless sharingof information outside of the organization or industry in a secure andefficient manner.

Another issue facing industries, such as the real estate, insurance,finance, etc., is an inability to assess one's risk due to imperfectinformation. This is mostly due to the fact that different companieswithin the same industry often employ silo technologies which areincapable of providing a means to securely and seamlessly shareinformation with other companies having a need or desire for theinformation. Since the risk associated with an asset can span literallydozens, hundreds or thousands of organizations all interlinked by theirrisk exposure to the particular asset, there is a pronounced unsatisfiedneed in the art for a standardized data sharing platform through whichentities may transact with one another and directly share the data anddocuments associated with such transactions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed and claimed herein is a platform and method for standardizedsharing of data. This platform includes a network, a database and aserver which is configured to define a plurality of data objects forboth entities and non-entities, wherein each of the data objects forentities comprises information that corresponds to specific entitytypes, while each of the data objects for non-entities comprisesinformation that corresponds to specific tangible items. The server isfurther configured to populate an asset object, from among the pluralityof data objects, with information corresponding to an underlying assetwhich has been provided by a user of the platform, wherein the usercorresponds to a preferred owner of the asset object by virtue of havingresponsibility to maintain information relating to the underlying asset.

The server is further to define relationships between the asset object,the user and one or more of the other plurality of data objects,including at least one entity object, wherein said relationships aredefined as a function of one or more commercial arrangements between theuser and one or more other entities, wherein the at least one entityobject corresponds to the one or more other entities. Finally, theserver is configured to allow one or more other entities the right toaccess said asset object over the network and in accordance with saiddefined relationships and with permissions defined by said user.

Other aspects, features, and techniques of the invention will beapparent to one skilled in the relevant art in view of the followingdetailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, objects, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary networkarchitecture for the standardized data sharing platform disclosedherein, which is configured in accordance with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 2A depicts a graphical representation of how various entities mayall share in the risk associated with a particular asset;

FIG. 2B is an object diagram illustrating how generic objectrelationships may exist within the disclosed standardized data sharingplatform, whereby various relationships between specific objects havebeen defined;

FIG. 3 is an example of how the object diagram of FIG. 2 may be arrangedfrom an asset-centric perspective, consistent with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is an example of how the object diagram of FIG. 2 may be arrangedfrom a loan-centric perspective, consistent with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 5 provides a temporal representation of how data ownership andpermission levels relating to an asset may change as a function of timeand/or transaction events, in accordance with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates one example of how multiple occurrences of an assetmay be joined in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 7 depicts one example of a graphical user interface configured toaccess one or more aspects of the standardized platform environment, asdisclosed herein;

FIG. 8 depicts another example of a graphical user interface configuredto access one or more aspects of the standardized platform environment,as disclosed herein;

FIG. 9 depicts an object diagram of one example of a real estateinvestment relationship map, as it may exist within the standardizedplatform environment;

FIG. 10 illustrates how asset-related data may be accessed from withinthe standardized platform environment across different industries, inaccordance with the principles of the standardized platform disclosedherein; and

FIG. 11 depicts a diagram of one example of a financial transactionrelationship map, as it may exist within the standardized platformenvironment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Overview of the Disclosure

The following disclosure relates to a novel, standardized platform,which may be implemented in a secure web-based environment, across whichinstitutions and individuals may access and share information, and whichmay further transact between organizations and industries. One aspect ofthe invention is to provide a plurality of standard objects withspecified relationships and permissions that are applied betweenspecified users and such objects. Such objects are managed, accessed andmodified using a universal web-based platform that facilitates thesecure sharing of data and documents, web-based communication, financialtransactions and workflows across a wide range of user types. Suchobjects can be defined as entity objects, e.g., borrower, insurer,guarantor, bank, investor, asset manager, etc. Additionally, the definedobjects may include non-entity objects, such as assets, loans, insurancepolicies, etc.

All objects are information sets, and may be defined to have certainfundamental characteristics, including for example one or more of thefollowing:

-   -   Data fields    -   Files (pictures, documents, etc)    -   Contacts    -   Relationships with other objects    -   Permission levels.

All objects (and hence the information in them) relate to something inthe real world, such as an underlying asset, a loan, a bank, anappraisal, etc. Each object has a preferred “owner” and numerousnon-preferred owner. For example, in the case of an “asset holder,” thisowner may have the ability to create a loan object, an insurance policyobject, etc. Such objects may be administered by a preferred owner,although such owner may grant object access rights and/or additionalownership rights to any number of other non-preferred owners.

In some situations, identical objects (e.g., an asset) may be owned byseparate users (e.g., asset holder, insurance company). In such cases,the platform may be configured to identify such duplicates and combinethe objects so that they can be properly accessed and shared.

Users of the novel platform are considered members of the specificonline community in which they are transacting business together. Datawithin the platform is owned by such member organizations andindividuals. Access and consent mechanisms for member organizations andmember individuals to share with other members of the platform ispreferably controlled by the owners of the underlying information.Members that are granted permissions to objects from other members willhave the ability to exercise those permissions within the same platform.Members can aggregate information across multiple member organizationsthat they have permissions. For example, a regulatory body can begranted permissions from multiple institutions and report on and analyzeinformation across multiple institutions.

Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide permission logic whichflexibly controls the explicit and implicit access and consentmechanisms for the universal platform. All data fields, document types,and objects in the platform are individually permissionable. This allowscreation of an infinite number of permissions, thus allowing the ownerof information to share only that information that they desire withanother member.

It should further be appreciated that members with adequate permissionsmay also have the authority to combine similar object types (e.g.,loans, assets, etc.) into “object groups” for convenience in settingpermissions, while members themselves can be grouped into “membergroups.”

Permissions are granted by linking specific members to specific objectsgroups according to a permissioning set. Permissioning sets may becategorized and named based on defined roles. For example, variouspermissioning sets for an asset manager can be created and labeled“Asset Manager 1, Asset Manager 2, or Asset Manager 3”.

Unlike traditional web-based platforms where administrators have theability to grant only user access permissions, the novel platformdisclosed herein is based, at least in part, on the concept of ownershipof information. In short, an authorized member can grant to anothermember ownership rights over shared information. As appropriate to abusiness relationship or transaction, multiple parties can co-own thesame information. Moreover, once ownership rights to information havebeen granted, such rights cannot be revoked, just as ownership of realproperty cannot be revoked once transferred.

Another aspect of the disclosure is that object types will be definedwith a preferred owner. For example, an asset holder can own a loanobject, while a lender can also own a loan object. However, in this casethe lender would be the preferred owner of the loan object because thelender is the entity which is obligated or in the best position tomaintain the object's information, e.g., loan balance.

In certain embodiments, the platform may be configured to alert membersthat each appear to own a duplicate of the same object and give them theopportunity to merge this object with co-ownership and a declaration ofa preferred owner.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, ownership of objectsmay vary over time, and is described in more detail below.

Still another aspect of the present disclosure relates to ensuring dataintegrity and accuracy. To that end, only authenticated members may takeany actions in relation to the data and documents in the platform, andno information is permitted to be anonymous.

It should further be appreciated that the platform may be a ‘context’platform in the sense that objects may be created with a standard objectsyntax. This standard syntax may allow members to create new objecttypes that are capable of relating with other existing objects on theplatform. The creation of such new objects may include data fields,document and image types, known relationship structures to otherobjects, permission sets, workflows, etc. In the case of new objectworkflows, the standard syntax may allow members to create new workflowsthat are capable of relating with objects and members within theplatform. Standard editing and creation tools for new objects,permissions, workflows, etc. may similarly be provided to developers.Members that create new objects and/or workflows for the platform mayown and even market them to other members on the platform.

Still another aspect of the disclosure is to provide a communicationsplatform through which members may securely communicate with othermembers. Communications such as email, instant message, voice and videoconference may be recorded within the platform, and even related to theobjects, workflows and members, as may be specified by the authorizedmembers.

The platform disclosed and claimed herein may further comprise aservices marketplace through which members may provide services to othermembers in the platform. For example, if a member needs a valuationperformed on a piece of collateral, the member can request the servicesof other members that can provide the valuation information through theplatform.

To facilitate the provision of the service, the member servicer may begiven limited and temporary object permissions by the requesting memberservice. Payment for any services rendered may also be processed throughthe platform.

In addition to facilitate the marketing of newly-created objects andmember services, the novel platform may further be configured tofacilitate the purchase of third party data and to associate such datato particular objects within the platform. Similarly, members can posttheir owned objects for sale on one or more marketplaces existing on theplatform. For example, real estate, loans, securities, etc. can bepurchased. Sale of objects between member includes a transfer ofownership of objects between members.

Another aspect of the platform relates to the concept of workflows. Inparticular, an information owner may start a workflow which, wheninitiated, grants ownership to a third party which is sufficient toperform a requested task, e.g., perform an appraisal, audit, etc. Oncethe third party has completed the requested task, they may retainownership to view only the information/product relating to the taskperformed by the third party, but not to view any future informationrelating to the object in question.

Additionally, a transition between workflow states can create newobjects, create temporary permissions, create permanent ownership ofpermissions, and transfer ownership between participants. Workflowtransitions may have pathways designated as alternatives in order toprevent “roadblock” conditions that render many workflows ineffective.Transitions can be executed by a properly permissioned secondary party,such as a supervisor or secretary. Although the workflow may proceed,the record of these transitions may be specially marked. This markercould be used for reporting, second pass review, replay when thetransition designee resumes their capacity, or other purposes.

Finally, the platform may be configured to enable members to report onobjects that they have permission to own or access. Such reporting mayoccur across multiple organizations, industries and demographics betweenmembers.

The principles set forth herein should be interpreted as relatinggenerally to any industry or company that shares information andtransacts within/across such industry and/or company. Specifically, theplatform disclosed herein enables business professionals in all lending,real estate investment, financial services, insurance, real estatebrokerages, regulatory industries, brokerages, consulting and any otherasset-based business, whether tangible or non-tangible, to communicate,share information and transact financially in a single, secure platform.

As used herein, the terms “a” or “an” shall mean one or more than one.The term “plurality” shall mean two or more than two. The term “another”is defined as a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”are open ended (e.g., comprising). The term “or” as used herein is to beinterpreted as inclusive or meaning any one or any combination.Therefore, A, B or C means any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A andC; B and C; A, B and C. An exception to this definition will occur onlywhen a combination of elements, functions, steps or acts are in some wayinherently mutually exclusive. Reference throughout this document to“one embodiment”, “certain embodiments”, “an embodiment” or similar termmeans that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner onone or more embodiments without limitation.

In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art ofcomputer programming, the invention is described below with reference tooperations that are performed by a computer system or a like electronicsystem. Such operations are sometimes referred to as beingcomputer-executed. It will be appreciated that operations that aresymbolically represented include the manipulation by a processor, suchas a central processing unit, of electrical signals representing databits and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations, such as insystem memory, as well as other processing of signals. The memorylocations where data bits are maintained are physical locations thathave particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic propertiescorresponding to the data bits.

When implemented in software, the elements of the invention areessentially the code segments to perform the necessary tasks. The codesegments can be stored in a processor readable storage medium, which mayinclude any medium that can store information. Examples of the processorreadable mediums include an electronic circuit, a semiconductor memorydevice, a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory or other non-volatilememory, a floppy diskette, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, etc.

Exemplary Network Overview

As depicted in FIG. 1, a simplified system diagram is provided forstandardized data sharing platform 100 configured to implement one ormore aspects of the invention. As shown, the platform 100 includes oneor more member organizations 105 ₁-105 _(n). While in one embodiment,the member organizations 105 may correspond to a single company orbusiness, it should equally be appreciated that the member organizations105 may relate to other organization levels as well, e.g., country,institution, industry, etc. Each member organization 105 may include oneor more work stations. In certain embodiments, the work stations may beconfigured to execute software which generates a graphical userinterface (GUI) configured to access a standardized data sharingplatform server 110 and associated platform database 115 over a globalnetwork 120 (e.g., the Internet). The platform server 110 may be coupledto or otherwise in electronic communication with the platform database115, in which member and object data is stored and processed. It shouldbe appreciated that the platform server 110 may be implemented as asingle server or as several interlinked servers.

The standardized data sharing platform 100 of FIG. 1 further depicts thefact that one or more individual work stations 125 ₁-125 _(n) which maybe similarly configured to access the standardized data sharing platformserver 110 and associated platform database 115 over a global network120.

References below to any actions taken by users or members of theplatform should be interpreted to correspond to individuals, such as atany of the various work stations of any member organization 105 orindividual work stations 125, accessing the platform server 110 andplatform database 115 via the network 120. Additionally, all informationprovided by such users/members, all changes or other interactions bysuch users/members, are performed via client-side application which isconfigured to interact with the platform server 110 and the informationin the platform database 115.

Exemplary Embodiments of the Invention

Referring now to FIG. 2A, depicted is a graphical representation of howvarious entities may all share in the risk associated with a particularasset. In particular, diagram 200 depicts how the risk is not merelycontained to ‘first level’ investors, asset holders, lenders andinsurance carriers. This is due to the fact that those ‘first level’entities are in turn owned, insured and/or regulated by second level,third level, etc. entities as well. In this fashion, a transaction-basednetwork is essentially defined around the asset, yet those risk-bearingentities presently have no means to share the information and documentsthat explain, define or are otherwise relevant to the asset's riskprofile.

Unlike a social network, however, sharing information in atransaction-based network involves significant risk and consequences.Therefore, one aspect of the invention is to define a set of rules whichgovern the novel information sharing platform disclosed and claimedherein. First, in a transaction-based network information cannot simplybe shared uniformly. Rather, information must be shared with only thoseentities which have a right or reason to need access. Therefore, auniversal and infinitely flexible permissioning system must be appliedacross the platform so that all of the appropriate entities have theinformation they are entitled, but without violating any privacy rightsor security.

Second, unlike in a social network, in a transaction-based network onecannot simply “unfriend” another entity that they are doing businesswith. Thus, as will be described in more detail below, another aspect ofthe invention is to impose the concept of ownership on the informationwhich is shared across the platform. In a transaction-based network,money is not the only thing which is transferred between parties.Rather, ownership of the information that was used to underwrite aparticular transaction is also transferred.

Finally, the present invention recognizes the concept of data provenancein that information cannot be trusted if it is provided or revisedanonymously.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, depicted is an object diagram illustrating howgeneric object relationships may exist within the disclosed standardizeddata sharing platform (e.g., on platform server 125 and/or database 135of FIG. 1), whereby various relationships between specific objects havebeen defined. In particular, the diagram is depicted from theperspective of object 205 which may be an entity object, such as aborrower, insurer, guarantor, bank, investor, asset manager, or anon-entity object, such as an asset, loan, insurance policy, etc. Object205 is of a particular type (i.e., Type A), while it has definedrelationships to various other objects of varying types, includingobjects 210, 215, 220, 225 and 230. Additionally, object 230 itself hasadditional defined relationships with object 225, as well as withobjects 235 and 240. Moreover, each object will be further defined orwith a particular preferred owner. In the case of a loan object, forexample, the preferred owner would be the lender, such as a bank, sinceit would have the legal obligation to maintain the information relatingto the loan, and therefore is in the best position to maintain theintegrity and accuracy of the information. The following a partial listof exemplary objects that may be defined, along with the associatedpreferred owner:

Object Associated Preferred Owner Entity Entity or individual LoanLender Asset Asset Holder Insurance policy Insurance Broker Offer BuyerEscrow Escrow Officer Appraisal Appraiser Bank Bank AdministratorBrokerage Brokerage Administrator Equity fund Fund AdministratorInsurance brokerage Insurance Brokerage Administrator Insurance carrierInsurance Carrier Administrator Property management company Propertymanagement Administrator Escrow company Escrow Company AdministratorTitle company Title Company Administrator

As also noted previously, data access and sharing may be carried out asa function of the role that a particular user assumes with respect to anunderlying asset, for example. To that end, the following is again apartial list of the potential roles that the owners of objects mayassume:

-   -   Asset holder    -   Partner—managing    -   Partner—limited    -   Borrower    -   Guarantor    -   Insured    -   Buyer    -   Seller    -   Broker    -   Administrator    -   Investor

It is a further aspect of the invention for the owner of an object to beable to define a particular level of permission for each object field,file and/or contact. The various possible levels of permission orsecurity categories may include the following:

-   -   Share    -   Never-share    -   Financials    -   Regulator    -   Disposition    -   Security categories 1-n

Referring now to FIG. 3, depicted is an example of the object diagram ofFIG. 2 arranged from an asset-centric perspective. In particular, objectdiagram 300 depicts various object relationships from the perspective ofasset object 305. As shown, the asset object 305 has a definedrelationship with an insurance policy object 310 covering the underlyingasset, an offer object 315 relating to an offer to purchase theunderlying asset, a buyer/broker object 320 corresponding to a potentialbuyer or broker of the underlying asset, and a loan object 325 relatingto a note being held for at least a portion of the asset underlying theasset object 305. In the depicted example of FIG. 3, a relationshipbetween the asset object 305 and a second loan object 330 has also beendefined, whereby an asset holder object 335 has defined relationshipswith each of the loan objects 325 and 330 and of course with the assetobject 305 itself. In this particular embodiment, the asset holder maybe a trust or other entity which is owned or controlled by threeindividuals, Sam, Evan and Tom. Therefore, objects 340, 345 and 350 maypreferably also have defined relationships with the asset holder object335, as well as a defined preferred owner.

With reference to the object diagram 300 of FIG. 3, the following tablebelow illustrates the various relationships and permissions which,according to one example, have been granted/assigned by the preferredowner, which in this case is the asset holder (AH):

Asset Object Fields (A-AH) Asset Holder (preferred (A-L) (A-I) (A-B)owner) Loan Insurance Buyer (View/Edit) (View) (View) (View) AssetType-House X X X X Cost to Complete X X Fair market Value X X X BedroomCount X X X X APN X X X X Year Built X X X X Occupancy Rate X X X #Units X X X X . . . X X . . . X DOCS Share X X X Never Share X FinancialX X Disposition X X . . . X X X

Referring now to FIG. 4, depicted is another example of the objectdiagram, although in this case arranged from a loan-centric perspective.In particular, object diagram 400 depicts various object relationshipsfrom the perspective of a loan object 405. As shown, the loan object 405has a defined relationship with an asset object 410, which is associatedwith the asset to which the underlying loan of the loan object 405 wasmade. Additionally, the loan object 405 has a defined relationship to abank object 415 relating to the entity which made the loan underlyingthe loan object 405. The bank will have made various other loans, andtherefore the bank object 415 will have defined relationships with theloan objects 420 ₁-420 _(n) corresponding to those various other loans.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, the loan object 405 also has definedrelationships with a regulator object 425, a borrower object 430corresponding to the underlying borrower on the loan, and guarantorobjects 435, 440 and 445, corresponding to three of the borrower'sguarantors.

With reference to the object diagram 400 of FIG. 4, the following tablebelow illustrates the various relationships and permissions which,according to one example, have been granted/assigned by the preferredowner, which in this case is the lender (L):

Loan Object Fields (L-L) Lender (preferred (L-B) (L-G) (L-R) owner)Borrrower Guarantor Regulator (View/Edit) (View) (View) (View) LoanNumber X X X X Original Balance X X X X Current Balance X X X X LienPosition X X X X Interest Rate X X X X Performing Status X X X X AuditReview X X Audit Score X X . . . X X . . . X X DOCS Share X X X X NeverShare X Financial X X X X Disposition X X . . . X X X

FIG. 5 provides a temporal representation of how data ownership andpermission levels relating to an asset may change as a function of timeand/or transaction events. As previously mentioned, one aspect of theinvention is to incorporate a temporal component to the concept ofobject ownership. For example, if a member sells an object to anothermember, the selling member would retain active permissions over theobject up to the date of sale, and would indefinitely retain allinformation owned prior to that point. Conversely, the acquiring memberwould then receive ownership once the transaction was completed withactive permission to edit the object from that point forward, as well asof course access to all information about the object from the closing ofthe transaction. An owner retains ownership to all of the data over thetime period in which that owner owned the object. Thus, in at least oneembodiment, all data fields and documents in the platform to be timestamped. This allows the information regarding a particular data objectto persist though time and through various owners. Such functionalityallows more rigorous analysis of asset/entity trends and behaviors.

In the particular example of FIG. 5, timeline 500 shows how ownershipand access to an asset object may be affected over time and in responseto one or more transactions involving the underlying asset of the assetobject. In the example of FIG. 5, the asset first goes to market at time505. A corresponding asset object is created on the novel platformdisclosed and claimed herein, i.e., server platform 125 and database 135of FIG. 1. At time 510, Asset Holder #1 purchases the asset with a loanfrom Lender #1 and takes out an insurance policy on the asset fromInsurance company #1. From that time 510 forward, Asset Holder #1 is thepreferred owner of the asset object (since he/she owns the underlyingasset), and has granted viewing rights of the asset object to bothLender #1 and Insurance company #1. Additionally, the Asset Holder #1will be given access to previous information about the asset, beginningfrom the time that the asset went to market at time 505.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, Asset Holder #1 decides to put the assetup for sale at time 515. However, until an actual transaction occurs,the Asset Holder #1 will continue to own and be able to edit/view theasset object, while Lender #1 and Insurance company #1 will similarlycontinue to have access to the asset object.

At time 520, Asset Holder #2 purchases the asset from Asset Holder #1.At that point, Lender #1 is paid off and the policy from Insurancecompany #1 is canceled. In connection with that transaction, AssetHolder #2 will take out a loan for the asset from Lender #2 and willalso take out its own policy from Insurance company #2. From that point,Asset Holder #2 owns the asset object (since he/she now owns theunderlying asset) and is free to grant access rights to others, which inthis case includes Lender #2 and Insurance company #2. This willcontinue until the Asset Holder #2 transfers the asset or gives away itsownership of the asset object. Also, each of Asset Holder #2, Lender #2and Insurance company #2 are given access to the asset object, as itexisted from time 515 when it went back on the market.

FIG. 5 illustrates how ownership and access to the asset object maychange over time and as a function of the underlying asset beingtransferred. More particularly, it illustrates the concept that theasset object (like all objects on the platform) persist over time indifferent states. For example, even after time 520 when the underlyingasset is sold, Asset Holder #1 will have access to the asset object, butonly as it existed between time 505 and 520. Any changes made to theasset object after time 520, will not be known to Asset Holder #1 andwill not be reflected in the instantiation of the asset object which isaccessible by Asset Holder #1. Similarly, Lender #1 and Insurancecompany #1 will be able to access, through the platform, the assetobject, but only as it existed during the time when the loan andinsurance policy, respectively, were active. Conversely, when AssetHolder #2 logs in and accesses the asset object, the instantiation ofthe asset object which it can view and edit will correspond to thetimeframe beginning at time 515. In this fashion, the information aboutan asset can be easily shared, but its ownership can be tightlycorrelated to real world events, such as canceling insurance policies,paying off loans, selling assets, etc.

Another aspect of the disclosed platform is to maintain data integrityby, not only defining the ownership of the data as a function of time,but also to ensure that no data is anonymous. In particular, allinformation contained in the data objects is associated with the memberwho provide the information, and all edits to the data objects aresimilarly associated with the corresponding editing member(s).

Referring now to FIG. 6, the novel platform disclosed herein isconfigured to allow new objects to be created, joined to other objects,and controlled (owned) by different entities. Phase 1 of FIG. 1illustrates a pre-join phase in which an asset-centric relationship 600and a lender-centric relationship 625 need to be joined. In particular,an asset holder has taken out a loan and an insurance policy on theunderlying asset, and has created objects for each of the asset holder,loan and insurance policy, with the corresponding relationships defined,as shown in the asset-centric relationship 600. However, the lender(bank 635) has also created objects (e.g., via platform server 125) forthe loan, including its own asset 625, loan object 630, bank object 635and borrower object 640. This results in some duplicative informationand objects. It also results in certain instantiations of the objectsbeing owned by a non-preferred owner, i.e., loan 615 owned asset 605 orasset 645 owned by loan 630, etc.

To avoid effort and information duplication and improve efficiency,another aspect of the novel platform disclosed and claimed herein is torecognize when such duplicative objects have been created, and toautomatically introduce (Phase 2) the owners of the affected objects(i.e., asset 605 and loan 630) such that the parties can agree to joinand assign permissions to the various ancillary objects. To that end,Phase 3 of FIG. 6 depicts the post-joined phase of the asset-centricrelationship 600 and the lender-centric relationship 625 such thatduplicative objects have been eliminated and, to the extent possible,all objects are owned by their preferred owner. Note that the preferredowner for the insurance policy 675 would be the insurance company.However, since the insurance company's policy object has not yet beenjoined, this particular instantiation of the policy 675 remains with anon-preferred owner.

With respect to process of reconciling information, it may be preferablefor the preferred owner to perform such reconciliation. This may be doneby providing the preferred owner with administrative and editingauthority. To determine who the preferred owner is for a particularobject, the difference between users of information and creators orowners of information should be recognized. That is, those entitieswhich create and are responsible for maintaining certain informationwill likely be considered the preferred owner.

It should be appreciated that all of the above-described objectinformation and relationships will be experienced by members of thenovel data sharing platform in the form of computer-generated GUIs whichare generated by the platform's servers and viewed by users on aworkstation that is running, for example, a browser-type application, ormay alternative be accessible using a dedicated client-side application.To that end, FIG. 7 depict one example of a GUI 700 which has beengenerated by the platform server (e.g., platform server 125) based onobject data, defined relationships and member ownership/accessinformation that is stored in a database (e.g., platform database 135).In particular, GUI 700 displays information relating to a real estateasset from an asset-centric perspective. The information disclosed aboutthe real estate asset in GUI 700, including the variously accessibledocuments, pictures and tabbed information, collectively comprises theoverall asset object. As the owner of this particular asset object, theuser could also use GUI 700 to edit the asset object or grant additionalaccess or ownership rights to the object. As previously described, theobject is essentially a data set that resides on a database (e.g.,platform database 135), but which is permissioned, maintained andmanaged according to the novel principles disclosed herein.

Referring now to FIG. 8, depicted is another example of a GUI 800 whichhas been generated by the platform server (e.g., platform server 125)based on object data, defined relationships and member ownership/accessinformation that is stored in a database (e.g., platform database 135).In this example, however, GUI 800 displays information relating to areal estate asset but from a loan-centric perspective. Thus, GUI 800,including the variously accessible documents, pictures and tabbedinformation, collectively comprises the overall loan object, which canbe both viewed by a member and edited by its owner via GUI 800.

Referring now to FIG. 9, depicted is an object diagram 900 for a realestate investment arrangement in which entity objects for Real EstateInvestors 1-3 are associated with entity objects for investment LLCs1-4, which in turn have a defined relationship to non-entity objects,such as the variously owned assets, loan and insurance policiesunderlying the investment arrangement. Each of the Real Estate Investors1-3 and/or investment LLCs 1-4 may have a member organization network(e.g., organization network 105 of FIG. 1) which is configured to accessthe novel standardized data sharing platform (e.g., platform server 125and database 135) over a network connection (e.g., network 130) using aGUI displayed on a workstation display.

Referring now to FIG. 10, depicted is another object diagram 1000 inwhich entity objects corresponding to Banks A, B and C have definedobject relationships with their respective loan portfolios. However, byusing the above-described permissioning protocols and object definitionsentities from any industry can be selectively granted access to the loanobjects irrespective of which bank is holding the loan. Thus, in theevent that each of Banks A, B and C use the same law firm, accountingfirm, etc., those vendors can be granted access to the loan objects,irrespective of in which bank's portfolio the underlying loan resides.It should further be appreciated that, within each particular vender,only selective employees may be granted access to the platform and/orthe particular loan object information. In this fashion, data can beselectively shared across entirely different industries utilizing theabove-described novel platform.

Finally, FIG. 11 illustrates how the novel platform may be used tofacilitate financial transactions. In this example, the underwritinginformation relating to a particular asset 1110 may be provided over theplatform (e.g., to server 125). An insurance policy 1140 is presented tothe insured 1120 via the platform. The insured 1120 may thenelectronically pay the insurance premium to the insurance carrier 1150,via the broker 1130, using its member account on the platform. Thebroker's member account can be established such that its commission issimilarly withheld from the insurance premium, using the platformarchitecture.

A platform configured in accordance with the principles of the inventionmay further facilitate communication between users/owners regarding aparticular object. These communications may be performed within theplatform and archived within the platform. The security and permissionlevels associated with communication information may be handledaccording to the same methodology as other data and files.

Still another aspect of the invention may be to facilitate thetransacting of money between users/owners within the platform, as itrelates to the real world (i.e., sale of an asset, a loan, an appraisal,etc.). Members of the platform may use the platform itself to enter intofinancial agreements, agree to payment terms and execute payment throughany known electronic means.

The platform may also allow users/owners to create and assign actionitems to other team members. These action items may then be tracked,reported and viewed based on role and/or permission levels, for example.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A standardized, data sharing platform comprising:a network; a database; and a server coupled to the database and to thenetwork, wherein the server includes processing circuitry to executeprogramming code to, define a plurality of data objects for bothentities and non-entities, wherein each of the plurality of data objectsfor entities comprises information that corresponds to specific entitytypes, while each of the plurality of data objects for non-entitiescomprises information that corresponds to specific tangible items; storethe plurality of data objects in a platform database; populate an assetobject, from the plurality of data objects, with informationcorresponding to an underlying asset which is provided by a user of theplatform, wherein the user corresponds to a preferred owner of the assetobject by virtue of having responsibility to maintain informationrelating to the underlying asset; defining relationships between theasset object, the user and one or more of the other plurality of dataobjects, including at least one entity object, wherein saidrelationships are defined as a function of one or more commercialarrangements between the user and one or more other entities, whereinthe at least one entity object corresponds to the one or more otherentities; and allow one or more other entities the right to access saidasset object over the network and in accordance with said definedrelationships and with permissions defined by said user.
 2. The platformof claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of data objects is aninformation set comprising data fields, defined relationships to otherdata objects, and entity permission levels.
 3. The platform of claim 2,wherein the asset object further comprises documents relating to theunderlying asset.
 4. The platform of claim 1, wherein said specificentity types comprise at least one of a buyer, seller, borrower,insurer, insured, guarantor, bank, investor and asset manager.
 5. Theplatform of claim 1, wherein said underlying asset comprises one of realestate, a loan and an insurance policy.
 6. The platform of claim 1,wherein ownership of the asset object varies in accordance withownership of the underlying asset.
 7. The platform of claim 6, wherein,following a transfer of the underlying asset from a first owner to asecond owner, the first owner retains ownership of the asset object asit existed prior to said transfer, while the second owner obtainsownership of the asset object as it exists following said transfer. 8.The platform of claim 1, wherein only the preferred owner is allowed tomodify and grant access permissions to the asset object.
 9. A method forproviding a standardized, data sharing platform comprising: defining, bya platform server, a plurality of data objects for both entities andnon-entities, wherein each of the plurality of data objects for entitiescomprises information that corresponds to specific entity types, whileeach of the plurality of data objects for non-entities comprisesinformation that corresponds to specific tangible items; storing, by theplatform server, the plurality of data objects in a platform database;populating, by the platform server, an asset object, from the pluralityof data objects, with information corresponding to an underlying assetwhich is provided by a user of the platform over a network connection,wherein the user corresponds to a preferred owner of the asset object byvirtue of having responsibility to maintain information relating to theunderlying asset; defining, by the platform server, relationshipsbetween the asset object, the user and one or more of the otherplurality of data objects, including at least one entity object, whereinsaid relationships are defined as a function of one or more commercialarrangements between the user and one or more other entities, whereinthe at least one entity object corresponds to the one or more otherentities; and allowing one or more other entities the right to accesssaid asset object over the network and in accordance with said definedrelationships and with permissions defined by said user.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of data objects is aninformation set comprising data fields, defined relationships to otherdata objects, and entity permission levels.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the asset object further comprises documents relating to theunderlying asset.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein said specificentity types comprise at least one of a buyer, seller, borrower,insurer, insured, guarantor, bank, investor and asset manager.
 13. Themethod of claim 9, wherein said underlying asset comprises one of realestate, a loan and an insurance policy.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein ownership of the asset object varies in accordance withownership of the underlying asset.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein,following a transfer of the underlying asset from a first owner to asecond owner, the method further comprises causing the first owner toretain ownership of the asset object as it existed prior to saidtransfer, and causing the second owner to obtain ownership of the assetobject as it exists following said transfer.
 16. The method of claim 9,further comprising allowing only the preferred owner to modify and grantaccess permissions to the asset object.